


welcome aboard

by occludes



Category: Final Fantasy XII
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-01-01
Updated: 2009-01-01
Packaged: 2018-02-17 11:00:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2307263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/occludes/pseuds/occludes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>How many times through the years had she stood there just as she did then, watching quietly and waiting for what seemed like a good opportunity?</p>
            </blockquote>





	welcome aboard

Even after well over forty years, Fran had not forgotten every detail about the village she'd left behind. The faces, the whisper of the Wood, the arcs and twists of trees and branches and the peacefulness that accompanied it all. At first, leaving had seemed such a blessing, traveling where she wanted, when she wanted. Seeing the world that had so intrigued her for who knew how many years prior to her decision to leave. Encountering people, races, monsters, food, sights that she'd only ever read and heard about.

At first, she traveled on foot. From town to town, through the forests and deserts, exploring, listening, working when it was necessary. She'd proven wrong a good number of people that had laughed at the idea of her doing physical labor, and quickly she was shown to have a knack for the workings of mechanics and building. It was a talent she extended effort into improving into an actual skill, so that she might put it to use in earning money in the future.

The first time she'd stepped onto an airship it had, in fact, been to act as a mechanic. Likewise with the second and the third...and any number after that. Oh, it never lasted long. Fran (viera in general, perhaps) simply did poorly in the company of loud-mouthed humes that simply did not know when to leave well-enough alone.  _Where you from? Where you headed? Not often you see your kind around here._  She always had to resist the urge to say that, no, they'd probably  _never_  seen her kind around there, or anywhere for that matter. 

Forty some-odd years ago it was unheard of to come across a viera outside of their home, but the numbers seemed higher these days. She'd encountered a few in her travels and made sure to avoid them when possible. They were easily classified into two categories: those that were born in the wood, whether they knew her or not, and wished to talk about it, find out her tale of woe and why she'd left and then share their own. The second category were those who'd been born outside of Eruyt Village and wished to know everything Fran could tell them about it. Tales of home spoken to wide-eyed viera (or viera-hume hybrids, as the case often was) left Fran feeling heartsick and in a sour mood. At the very least, keeping to the airships when possible helped her avoid running into those she did not wish to see.

Unfortunately, Fran never lasted more than two trips on any given ship, and rarely said goodbye when she took her leave. 

Oh, but she didn't think that the humes were  _bad_  creatures. She'd met a few that she'd taken a bit of a liking to, and went so far as to hold a real, proper conversation. She met merchants and dancers, bar-keeps, entertainers, peddlers, travelers, knights, huntsmen, children... Each with their own stories and dreams and goals. Fran always listened, even if she didn't offer much information on herself. It was fine that way, she'd always thought. She wished not to share her stories with neither viera or hume, nor nothing in between. Her memories were her own.

And so...yes, well over forty years, if her memory served her correctly. Forty years of traveling and learning, and Fran had begun to think she  _did_  miss home, and yet knew despite it all she could not go back. Even if allowed to return, would she then not miss the sights and smells and people of the rest of the world? The grass was always greener on the other side, or some such nonsense. Outside of the village was where she belonged now, as had been her choice so long ago. She was, when it was all said and done, one of Them now.

But still, she often thought...it might be nice (and wise) to find someplace to finally call “home” for at least a few years. Maybe she'd make some companions, maybe not. Maybe she'd enjoy it—she hoped so—maybe not. 

Oh, but that idea was still just that: a mere idea, a list of options amongst many, and there were still places she had yet to see. So at the port was where she found herself. Yet again, right? How many times through the years had she stood there just as she did then, watching quietly and waiting for what seemed like a good opportunity? 

The ships never looked the same. Perhaps some of the blander-looking ones belonging to poor merchants started to blend together after awhile, looking for all the world as though they'd been mass-produced, but picking out good ships...ahh, she'd gotten that down to an art. Older ships, for a start; ships with smaller crews that were not likely to have their own mechanic on board, and had to rely on patch-work jobs or the aid of the mechanics that worked on land. Ships that generally couldn't afford extensive upkeep or high-end work, and so for them to meet Fran, who only asked for food and a ride to wherever they were already going in exchange for her services, was generally a God-send. 

Overall, the Strahl was not the sort of ship she would have stopped to consider trying to hitch a ride on. Too well-kept, seemed the type that would have its own well-sized crew. Even aside from that, it wasn't what she had in mind. She came upon it and merely gaze up at it, admiring, perhaps. Not the most luxurious or beautiful that she'd ever seen, no, but there was something about it that drew her. 

"She's beautiful, isn't she?" 

Fran didn't turn. The pleasant, well-mannered voice was not familiar to her, but she could tell a lot about a Hume by the way they spoke. He was one of fine upbringing, what with no trace of coarseness to his tone. The stranger stepped up beside her, and still she stared straight ahead. (Caught sight of him from the corners of her eyes; young and clean-shaven and well-dressed with a face just has pleasant as his voice.) "...She is yours?" 

"That she is." He folded his arms across his chest, turning his gaze to the viera and smiling. "She's called the Strahl. You'll find no ship better than her in all the land." He did not look bothered when Fran seemed unimpressed. (How many other men had told her just the same about their ships? Even those that were falling apart at the seams.)

A moment passed wherein he watched her, expecting, perhaps, some sort of statement or inquiry. When instead the viera turned as though to leave, he merely raised a brow and turned his attention back to the ship before them. Unwilling to waste his time speaking to someone who had no interest in speaking to him, she sensed. She had turned, but had not yet begun to wander off. After another long moment she asked, "Your Strahl... She has a crew?"

A casual shrug from the other. "Oh, well... I suppose you could say she only needs one man in her life."

That did give the viera pause and she turned to regard him, momentary surprise registering on her dark features. To be certain, she'd heard of ships with small crews of three or four, but to imply that one traveled completely alone... It seemed foolish to her, more than anything. (What if he fell ill? What if he were attacked? Any pirate ship in the sky would have overtaken and brought down another—pirate or no—if they became an obstacle or had something they wanted. Beyond all that, how could any hume enjoy such solitude?) 

"Don't look so horrified." The man clicked his tongue. "Personal preference, you see. Nothing more, nothing less." 

Fran studied him only a minute longer. Well-mannered and well-dressed and sweet-mouthed though he was, she felt inclined to mark him as a fool. Far too much could go wrong, left alone in the sky for prolonged periods of time such as that. Still, it had nothing to do with her and so she allowed her gaze to roam back to the ship. A time or two she started to open her mouth to speak, and each time she closed it again and attempted to tell herself to simply turn and walk away.

Her companion was the one who broke the silence. "You look as though you want to ask me something. I suggest getting it out; I'm a busy man with many things to get done." 

For all his words, Fran thought that he didn't sound as though he were in any particular rush. She hesitated a moment longer before asking, "...Is there fixing to be done?" 

The expression on his face was a sort of surprise at first. Perhaps he'd expected her to ask for transport in exchange for money. Afterward, though, he took upon the look of one who knew that his ship  _did_  need a few repairs, and he had probably been putting them off for some time. "One or two things, I suppose..." 

The viera nodded. That more or less settled it, then, didn't it? This would be the ship that she traveled on, though for how long, she didn't know. A trip, maybe two. Maybe she'd even break her record and go for a third. A one-man crew would hardly bother her and so... "I would fly with you," she told him then, nodding solemnly, "and mend that which needs repair." 

"Now, hold on—" he started, arms dropping back to his sides. Stepping before her, his hands placed themselves upon his hips and his expression was both annoyed and slightly flustered. "I didn't agree to anything of the sort; I don't even know where you're heading."

The viera's eyes drifted half-closed. Humes and their seeming need to always have a course laid out. Perhaps it was a result of their short life spans; they felt a need to have everything planned so as not to waste any time, to ensure that every second went to use. "For now, I go where your Strahl goes. When her path strays from mine, I will take leave." 

A heavy sigh escaped from the ship's captain, but it was one of reluctant acquiescence rather than agitation. "Right, right. Well, then...if that's how it is, welcome aboard the Strahl." With a sweeping gesture of his arm, her new companion stepped aside, beckoning her toward the first and last ship she'd ever call home.


End file.
